This invention is related to apparatus for either connecting or disconnecting a boom from a support, and more particularly to a disconnect which permits the user to release the boom by manipulating a handle on the disconnect, and then raising the boom to separate it from the disconnect.
Many industrial situations have a moving assembly line. Tooling or other apparatus is mounted on a boom suspended from a support adjacent the assembly line. The boom may, for example, support tooling for performing an operation on the workpiece as it is being advanced, or, the boom may support vacuum cup means for raising and lowering a workpiece. When the tooling is to be changed, the boom must be released from the support from which it is suspended, and replaced with a boom having a substitute tooling.
The boom is typically a cylindrical, elongated, tubular member. Various devices are conventionally used for connecting the boom to the support. Such conventional devices normally require the user to use a tool such as a wrench. This means that the user must take the time to either locate an appropriate tool or locate someone who has the use of such a tool, before the boom can be released.